Vulpine
by AttsosLittle
Summary: Ace knew he would regret it when he invites the chaotic Vulene Kaera along with him on his travels for a while. Well, at least she was interesting... Despite the unnerving frequency of her sexual jokes. [OC/Ace] Longer summary in the first chapter!
1. Prologue

**Extended Summary:**

 _Ace knew he would regret it when he invites the chaotic Vulene Kaera along with him on his travels for a while. Well, at least she was interesting... Despite the unnerving frequency of her sexual jokes.  
_

 **[OC/Ace]**

 _Hello there! Attsos here, with my first piece of fiction! Please bear with me as I write this, it's been a very long time since I've written anything to be published like this. I hope you enjoy it! Please do let me know what you think!_

 _This story is primarily of the Adventure genre, though there are certainly plans to add romance in there. While the pairing will definitely be Ace/OC, it will not be happening very fast! The pace of this romance will be extremely slow, if I have anything to do with it, and I will attempt to keep to the main plotline on top of that. However, I will not be focusing too hard on it. This is, first and foremost, Kaera's story - or part of it. The events in the official world of One Piece will not be the main focus of the story, nor will Kaera be influencing it a lot. Please bear that in mind. __Also, please be aware that there will likely be a lot of adult humour and likely some very adult situations as well._

 _An image of Kaera can be viewed via my profile! It was drawn by a good friend of mine, Delayni on deviantART, whom you should definitely go check out. Thank you, Delay!  
_

 _Lastly, underneath the link to the image of Kaera is a link to a YouTube playlist. It features a bunch of songs that I feel really fit the story well, and I will mention the songs featured in each chapter accordingly._

 _Songs featured in this chapter:_

 _1\. Red Riding Hood OST - Towers of the Void (Extended)  
_

 _This is completely optional! I merely provide the playlist for those that want to listen. Thank you!_

 **Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape or form affiliated with Eiichiro Oda. This fiction is written purely of my own enjoyment and I do not claim to own any characters other than Kaera, who is of my own creation. Please refrain from filing a lawsuit. Thank you!  
**

 **Future Author's Notes will not be as long as this one. This is mostly an introductory note. Thanks!**

* * *

The office was extremely stuffy today, Garp noticed. The biscuits on the coffee table in front of him were slowly disappearing, too. "Oi, someone bring me more of these. They're good."

"Garp, are you even listening?!"

Ah, yes. Sengoku. That was a problem.

"You haven't heard a word I've said over the last ten minutes, have you?" Sengoku sighed, rubbing his temples in an effort to keep his temper under control. He did love Garp, of course – he was one of his oldest friends. However, the man was absolutely infuriating when it came to meetings such as this.

"Nope!"

A vein pulsed on Sengoku's forehead as he stood up to make his point clearer. "You idiot! Listen when your superior is talking to you!"

A short bellow of laughter erupted from the Vice-Admiral. "Calm down, Sengoku! It's about that vixen, right?" Garp turned his attention to Sengoku, who was sitting at his desk again.

Immediately, the tone in the room darkened.

"Yes," Sengoku nodded stiffly before picking out a single bounty sheet. "Here. This is her latest bounty. We've had to raise it due to last week's... Incident."

Reaching across the table, Garp took the sheet of paper gingerly before laying it out in front of him. "Nine-Tailed Vixen, Vulene Kaera. Bounty of eighty-million Beli – are you sure this is necessary?"

"Garp, the girl almost murdered everyone in her immediate vicinity. It's arguably very lenient, if anything," Sengoku sighed. "The only reason it hasn't been put any higher is mainly the fact that she couldn't seem to control it very well."

Garp simply hummed in reply. Definitely a pirate to watch out for. "One thing that's bothering me is the fact that she hasn't aligned with any particular pirate crew."

"Yes, I know," Sengoku dipped his head, dropping his steely gaze to the bounty sheet once more. "It bothers me too. I want to have her brought in as soon as possible – she might become a problem in the future if a crew with the means to teach her gets a hold of her. We need to put a stop to it now while we have a greater chance of success."

"I see. Better get these posters out, then."


	2. Chapter One: Tavern Capers

_Hello again! Two chapters at once, how exciting. Truth is, I already had this written, ho ho. I have a music playlist to share with you all for this story now! You can click the link underneath Kaera's image on my profile to see the full playlist. The songs will be arranged as I write the story - so far, only the first few actually fit!_

 _Songs featured in this chapter:_

 _1\. Tavern Brawl - Main Theme Background Music_

 _2\. Tavern Brawl - Dragon Age: Origins Soundtrack_

 _3\. The Witcher Music: Murky Water Country Inn (Night)  
_

 _4\. Fairy Tail - Happy's Theme_

 _These are really just a little extra to help set the mood in the story. You don't have to listen to them, but I do recommend it! Thanks for reading, and please enjoy!  
_

* * *

The bar was heaving with people. Loud laughter filled the large hall, and the sound of glasses clinking together accompanied it. It was a cheerful atmosphere, and Ace decided he quite liked taverns. This one in particular.

Indiscriminate shouts for more alcohol came from various tables behind where he sat in front of the bartender. Leaning on the bar, he tipped back his drink and downed it with a smile.

Yep. Bars were _great_.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

Ace's head turned towards the horrified voice curiously.

A young woman – one of the bartenders, if he recalled – was pulling away unsuccessfully from what appeared to be a very large, very drunk pirate.

"Aw c'mon, it's just a bit of fun!" The pirate laughed. The tone of his voice was anything but lighthearted. Ace decided rather quickly that he didn't particularly like it. He pushed the glass away from him slightly and stood. Perhaps he should introduce himself.

However, taking a few steps towards the commotion, he realised that someone else had already stepped in.

"So, big boy, you want to have some fun, right?" A feminine voice purred from behind the table the pirate's crew was sitting at.

Continuing towards the table, Ace lifted his hat to get a good look at the newcomer. Long, silver hair framed her face, her skin almost as pale as the silvery strands themselves. A heated gaze of gold, transfixed on the pirate, glared out from underneath the bangs hanging in front of her face – the eyes of a predator. What stood out most, however, were the long, pointed ears sticking up from her head. Surely they weren't real, right?

One hand twitched with the undeniable need to touch them.

Taking his gaze off the strange woman to turn back to the pirate, he noticed the young bartender had slipped away the moment her assailant was distracted. Smart woman.

"Who the fuck are you?"

This guy's manners were clearly non-existent, Ace grimaced.

"Now, now, don't be shy," the silver-haired girl cooed condescendingly. "You'll have to make do with me, it seems. Your little birdy's flown away. I don't think she liked you all that much." She sighed, putting on a deliberately fake expression of pity. "What a shame."

The pirate snarled, clearly not impressed with her attitude. Ace simply muffled a snicker.

With a lunge, the mangy pirate flipped the table, throwing it clean out of the way to throw a clumsy punch at the stranger who had allowed his pet to get away. "I'll gut you!"

Smiling, the silver-haired woman simply sidestepped out of the way. A surprised yell, coupled with a rather loud crash, told her all she needed to know. "Oopsies."

And with that, a full-on brawl started. The pirate had missed his target completely, managing to wedge his fist in some other poor sod's face instead. Within a few seconds, the tavern had become a fistfight of epic proportions after pirates roared and joined in the fight with bloodthirsty grins.

For a moment, Ace lost sight of the silver-haired girl – a flash of pale skin and off-white strands would occasionally catch his eye as he ducked and punched his way through the chaos, and before long, he realised she was actually taking part.

A smile lit up her face as she weaved through the drunken pirates swinging their fists at each other. She was revelling in the chaos, throwing her own punches and laughing like a child at a theme park. Before long, however, order was re-established in the form of marines bursting through the tavern's front door.

"Shit, it's the marines!"

"Scarper, you lot!"

Shouts and bellows of panic reached Ace's ears as the pirates began to flee from the marines. As he retreated himself, he scanned the room for the silver woman – the object of his curiosity. Pale skin and the flash of red cloth disappearing out of one of the back windows alerted him to her whereabouts, and quickly, he followed her out the back of the tavern and down the back alleyways. _Was that a tail?_

"Oi!" He shouted after her once they were some distance away from the tavern. "Wait up!"

She turned at his voice, and Ace's dark eyes locked onto her golden ones. "The shit? Who're you?" She bristled. "And why'd you follow me?"

Ace slowed to a halt once he caught up to her. "I saw you start that fight," he grinned. "You seemed pretty interesting, so I thought I'd follow you. My name's Ace." He held up a hand in greeting.

"Ace? I know you," she studied him shrewdly for a moment before turning her body fully to talk to him properly. "Fire-Fist Ace, right? I'm sure I've seen your face on a wanted poster before."

"Yep, that's me. Portgas D. Ace, to be specific, but honestly, just call me Ace. What's your name?"

She grinned. "My name's Kaera. Nice ta meet ya," she saluted. "Vulene Kaera. Causing chaos is a talent – glad you got a kick out of it," she snorted. "Pun intended."

Ace laughed, deciding he liked this girl. "That was terrible."

Kaera simply shrugged with a smug grin on her face. "Just 'cause you don't appreciate true comedy."

They walked down the street, making light conversation.

"So you're a pirate? What crew are you with?" Ace asked curiously.

Kaera rolled her shoulders. "Technically I'm a loner. I just hitch rides with other crews occasionally."

Ace stared at her. "You don't have a crew?"

"Nah," she yawned. "I don't want to be some dickhead's underling, but being a captain just seemed like too much effort."

"Too much... Seriously?" Ace laughed.

Kaera grinned. "What? I'm lazy."

He learned she had just travelled this far using other crews to her advantage, never aligning with any one crew.

"Honestly, most of the pirates I've met have been complete idiots," Kaera complained. "They're lucky I even helped them out. Totally moronic."

Ace laughed. "A lot of them are," he agreed. "My little brother's probably the biggest idiot out the lot, though."

She snickered. "Can't be that bad, surely. You seem a'ight."

A short laugh poured out of him. "No. Really. Luffy's something else. I wouldn't be surprised if he had come to the Grand Line without a log pose. Who knows how he became a captain."

It was odd, how quickly they settled into conversation as they walked aimlessly. Kaera was incredibly easy-going, despite her love for chaos and fighting. She came across as brash, but her honesty made her likeable in a way.

"So... Kaera. I have to ask," his tone darkened as he stopped and turned to her. "Are they real?"

"Yep. They're D-cupped if you must know," she replied, face completely straight as she watched his cheeks burn slightly.

"Not that you idiot!" Ace's face flushed as she started to laugh loudly. "Did you do that on purpose?!"

"I have _no_ idea what you're talking about," she grinned. She knew _exactly_ what he was talking about. He knew it. She knew it.

"I meant those!" Ace huffed, pointing at the top of her head in embarrassment.

Kaera blinked. "My ears? Yep. They're real. Same with this," she indicated the long, silver tail behind her. She swished it around, almost to prove it. "Touch 'em if you want more proof. Just be gentle – they're sensitive," she said with a short bark of laughter.

Tentatively, Ace's right hand lifted up to feel the soft fur. "Well, I'll be damned. How?"

Kaera's shit-eating grin returned. "I ate a Devil Fruit, of course."

He nearly facepalmed. "Y'know, I really should have figured that out sooner."

"Yep. The Kitsu-Kitsu no Mi to be specific. I'm a fox girl!"

"I'm not surprised. You're definitely tricky enough for it," he grumbled playfully before humming for a moment. Withdrawing his hand from the soft, velvety fur, he continued, "I've never met any other Zoan-type users who have had the same sort of physical change, though."

"Oh, I choose to have my appearance like this. It's partial transformation – it's just become so natural to me that I don't bother transforming fully most of the time," she waved her hands. "My senses are sharper this way. It's much better in general."

Ace blinked, tilting his head slightly. "I see."

He didn't really.

Kaera's eyes turned to the sky as the scent of rain filled the air. "Should probably find a place to stay for the night. It's gonna rain soon."

Sure enough, great grey clouds were gathering above them as the two hurried to find an inn. Before long, they came across a small place fairly close to the island's docks and rented two rooms for the night.

One hot meal (or twenty) and another good conversation later and the two pirates were readying to retire to their rooms. As they made their way up the stairs towards the hallway where their rooms were located, Ace paused.

"Say, Kaera."

She turned to her new companion at the call of her name before grinning childishly. "What? I'm not sleeping with you."

His face burned as he sighed. "Shut up. I was actually going to ask if you wanted to travel with me for a while, since you don't have any way to get to other islands."

His face still slightly red at her stupid frequency of sexual comments, he watched her facial expression change into one of thoughtfulness.

"Y'know, that's not a bad idea. It'd be nice to travel with someone I actually like," she mused. "Ya got yourself a deal, hot stuff." She grinned.

"You're not calling me that," he turned abruptly before she saw his face burn again. Being on a crew that was near enough all-male, he realised, was probably not a good thing all the time. He barely knew how to react to this woman's openness towards sex and other lewd jokes. He was used to men making such jokes, but they were never directed at him like Kaera's were. How was he supposed to react?

She simply laughed. "Whatever, hot stuff. See you tomorrow!" She called before slipping into her room.

Ace wasn't entirely sure if he was going to regret this or not.

Well, at least she was interesting.


End file.
